EA rumored to layoff 500+
polycounter lvl 18
http://startupgrind.com/2012/04/exclusive-electronic-arts-set-to-lay-off-500-employees/
As of now EA says this is false but we all know too well that this is what publishers do. They will deny right up until they are handing you your paperwork to avoid the bad press and hit on the stocks...
My advice as always...
BEWARE AND BACK UP EVERYTHING NOW!!!!
Even if these turn out to be false you still have a safety net but if they turn out true and you don't do this. Well you are fucked for a lack of better words...
Protect your ass....
Hope this turns out to be false...
As of now EA says this is false but we all know too well that this is what publishers do. They will deny right up until they are handing you your paperwork to avoid the bad press and hit on the stocks...
My advice as always...
BEWARE AND BACK UP EVERYTHING NOW!!!!
Even if these turn out to be false you still have a safety net but if they turn out true and you don't do this. Well you are fucked for a lack of better words...
Protect your ass....
Hope this turns out to be false...
Replies
Also, I am also amazed ErichWK at the comments you see with these kinda news. People are actually happy for people loosing their jobs. Crazy world we are living in I guess.
I didn't realise their stock had gotten this low though, that's a colossal decline since late last year. Riccitielo is clearly doing exactly what Farrel did and the company is heading the exact same way - throwing stupid amounts of money at licensed projects, too much money into marketing and acquiring anything he can find in no organised manner.
I'll take my post from that other thread and dump it here:
Given the numbers in the link, that share price has dropped 86% of it's value in three years.
I would guess that most of these people don't think or care beyond the Negative news about the company it's cool to hate. They're just happy that something bad is being said publicly and now they can join in on the bash-fest.
They probably didn't feel bad for all the innocent work-for-hire stormtroopers that died in the 2 death stars either
Save your work and keep everything updated. Though I seriously hope this isn't true.
I know the EA comps are monitored so here is what you do:
Take a thumbdrive to work
turn off your machine
unplug the network cable
turn on your machine
plug in thumbdrive
back up your work
unplug thumbdrive
turn off your machine
plug your network cable back in
turn on your machine
Agreed, its a bit lame how there seems to be a lot of doom and gloom around lately with all the 'Studio X is closing down' news
I would agree, but even if they fact check they will just get a generic statement like they did here or when the THQ layoffs happened.
I gladly welcome them reporting rumors because often times that's the only warning we as game devs get.
Lets see people vouch for them now.
I completely agree with this. The first game I worked on was an M-rated shooter, since then it's all been kids games. And now for a children's network. Kids are awesome and get super excited about the simplest things. My nephews freak out about our shows/games.
Though one time we had a kid send a profanity laced email telling us how much he hates one of our shows and please don't respond back because it was his mothers email and he didn't want to get in trouble.
And if that's the case, do the larger companies really act that scummy?
So you can update your portfolio with the last few years of your professional career. Otherwise you have nothing to show for your time.
that.
...don't laugh yet....
...because I know artists at their core are so focused that they are lazy...:)
Either way, if you don't back up your work, then you will not have anything to show when the game ships.
Because you will be told to leave the building without getting a chance to get any of the work you did on the project. If you back it up you can put the stuff on your portfolio to get another job down the road when the game ships.
When Terminal Reality had their layoffs a month ago, they gave people a week to come in and back all their work up. They also gave them deals on licensing their engine for free.
They would seriously make you leave like that? If so it dosnt seem right. I would think they would give you a day to collect your things. I personally have not worked for large corporations, but instead many family atmosphere type jobs so I have no experience on the matter.
Often time they lock your computers down and have security there to escort people out.
They usually give you X amount of time to put your stuff in a box and leave.
The bigger the company the more impersonal it is when you're laid off.
No doubt. Do it at your own discression, but that's why I posted the process if your machine is monitored and have software to detect if usb drives have been plugged in.
From what I've been told, EA uses software like that and they screen you at the entrance to make sure you're not showing up with a portable HDD.
most contracts have a portion in there that sates that the employer can terminate employment at any time.
Some dick ones don't even have to tell you why.
and yup ace, i still dont hate ea for that. but i can see the reason for your fanatic hatred.. you are clueless and follow the trend.
i cant say i love ea, and i would not work for them again if offered the chance. And i hated them for a while after but man, water under the bridge.
NDA's will have a term period even after a layoff or termination up to a year generally. By that time the company will assume that the information you might have has become obsolete.
Rumors had been circling for a while leading up to it and I felt it was in my best interest to just back up my stuff to cover my ass in case I was hit by it. I backed up what I could and saved it.
Later the next week I went into work and found out that people were being let go. I was at my desk when my art director approached me and asked me to come with him. I knew I was done. I was led into an office and told that due to "resturcturing" my position with the company no longer existed.
I was wished good luck, was allowed to return to my desk to get my backpack and that was it. I had to leave my own keyboard, mouse, all my books, collectibles that I had decorated my cubical with and any thing else that was mine. I was then led away into a room where a bunch of us were handed paperwork to sign and get told about what was going on with severence, and some career counselor who had no clue at all about video games asked me if I would like to schedule job fair info with him to go over my career goals and my resume.
We were then quickly made to leave the building, hand over our access key cards and were given a time on a weekend when we could return to gather our personal items and also schedule a time to go through our computer while being monitored and place any files that we would like to have on a thumb drive that they provided.
I put on everything I would have used in my portfolio. Max files, renders, finished stuff, screen shots of levels I worked on. Anything that was for my folio or could be used to get another job. I was told the drive would be screened and checked and I could pick it up later.
When I picked it up I had less then 10 things on it that were useful. There was no work at all for my folio and the only files available were movies (trailers) for the game that had already been released to the public.
So yeah guys and gals... BACK UP YOUR STUFF... Cover your own ass. We aren't afforded the wonderful two week notices that companies always ask us for. In the end you have to protect yourself and your family and once you begin to think like that you will feel much better. We as artists are assets only when we are needed and when we are not we are tossed aside.
Ahh well... Old news now...
It boils down to knowing what could happen and how to be prepared for it.
Isn't that what shortens the time between looking for a new job?
I do think that hearing about large amounts of layoffs every week is very depressing but it's great that everyone can come to a place like polycount and have a chat about it rather than bottling it all up
That is an awesome deal, seriously. That engine from what I've seen is pretty bad ass.
B
Your story is pretty much the same as mine. Except I didn't back up my work, and I just bought a house six months earlier and had a wife that was four months pregnant.
But in the end, it was the best thing that has ever happened to my career.
We're seeing this with indies, and hopefully it only gets better.
can't believe people are "expendable" like that
Even if you were working in a cubicle at some regular job, you will be escorted out if laid off.
These keeps people from wrecking shit and or destroying digital files someone may need.